The warrior-poet walked the medieval Japanese countryside seeking duels with the strongest warriors he could find. He lived a pure ascetic existence. He didn't care where he slept. He carried no money or food. And when too old to fight, after a life on the edge of mortality, he wrote philosophy in a cave.

So, pretty much the exact opposite of the modern American lifestyle.

Yet as our country grapples with a dangerous debt/deficit problem, caused by demographic challenges and an overpriced and inefficient health care system, we should pay heed to two of Musashi's most important precepts. The first is to do nothing that is of no use. The second is to accept death in the midst of life.

Who came up with 'death panels'? .

In other words, Musashi would probably support "death panels" -- the concept of end-of-life counseling -- to guide treatment for the terminally ill. So do I. Here's why......

Bushido was all about dying. It’s not even a perfect code for warriors, and it didn’t apply to those outside the Samurai. To try and fit Bushido into modern America is like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. We are not feudal Japan, and never will be.

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

Whiffwhiffwhiff.

3
posted on 03/20/2013 4:44:30 PM PDT
by blueunicorn6
("A crack shot and a good dancer")

I don't believe in spending a nations fortune to keep a body alive no matter what....

however, this is the slippery slope.....they throw the words out there, it'll take a couple of years, pretty soon ABC will do a poll showing how Americans are more accepting of it, and there you go....

you work all your life and in the end, you'll get no say....

the decisions will be most certainly biased towards the party people....the transplants will got to them..the most up to date meds and treatments...

WWII -- Europe was almost consumed by Fascism. Government and business joined together in an orgy of death and destruction. Millions died. Asia was overrun by death-obsessed fanatics led by a god-like emperor. Bushido led to kamikaze attacks rather than face the fact that they were wrong.

In America today, we have combined both of these winning ideas and we march bravely into the future. FORWARD!

11
posted on 03/20/2013 5:43:11 PM PDT
by ClearCase_guy
(The ballot box is a sham. Nothing will change until after the war.)

The country is broke. Most dont understand this yet (FReepers mostly do).

Ok, for the sake of argument, I’ll give you that. BUT what if a ‘senior’ can pay out of pocket for a hip transplant or a heart bypass. Are you going to deny them those options because the country is broke? I did say they would pay for it themselves.

As I currently understand it, under Obamacare there would be no option for private pay of these operations. All medicine being practiced in the U.S. will ‘eventually’ be single payer, ie. ‘Government’. And that is where the ‘Death Panels’ come into play. Even if you can pay for it yourself you will be denied if you are no longer an ‘Economic asset’ to the nation.

Those folks will go offshore. Likely Caribbean locations a short plane ride from Florida.

The best and brightest of the US med profession will set up clinics to service exactly that type of clientele. I’ve already told several good friends in medical support professions to be looking to get in on the early waves of this trend.

I can accept the fact that there is a point where medical care won't do anything more.

The problem is that there is a point that although the patient can be treated it isn't financially worth it to the insurer. If the insurer is under a contract they may be required to continue paying, although the less reputable companies will try to find a way to not pay. If the government is the insurer, then there is no such contractual guarantee - just try to get the official contract for Medicare.

And if the only legal source of payment under a single payer system is the government, you don't even have the legal right to say "I don't care what the government says, I want to pay for a hip replacement." You will have to either bribe a congressman or flee the country for treatment.

16
posted on 03/20/2013 7:48:47 PM PDT
by KarlInOhio
(Choose one: the yellow and black flag of the Tea Party or the white flag of the Republican Party.)

This leads on to wonder how terminally ill will be defined under Obama Noncare. If an elderly patient could be saved by an operation will he/she be denied it and thus be deemed terminal?

No doubt, the argument will be made that we are all terminally ill, from birth.

This reminds me of the 'lifeboat problem' or the 'kidney machine problem' where there isn't enough for everyone who needs it and you have to pick who survives. The flaw in it is that there likely could be enough, provided the government wasn't mucking up the works.

24
posted on 03/21/2013 1:38:49 AM PDT
by Smokin' Joe
(How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing)

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